It's Complicated
by super dorothy
Summary: Albus Severus Potter and Scorpius Malfoy are entering their fifth year, and yet their friendship is still a mystery to those around them. Follows through the year of OWL's, meeting many recognisable characters on the way. Future ASS slash
1. Journey

Author's Notes - My first third generation story, gloriously un-beta'd! It's eventual AS/S, mainly because I can't stand the idea of Rose/Lily x Scorpius. And because it gives me an opportunity to write for a ship that _no-one_ can sink. Feel free to nitpick, but at least be constructive with it.

Enjoy (maybe leave a review?) Thanks!

-

Albus Severus Potter was on the Hogwarts Express for the fifth time in his life. It had quickly lost it's magical appeal over the past two years, the journey was now just dull. The excitement of the prospect of Hogwarts had been great in his first year, and the excitement of not being the youngest had taken over. Sadly though, now that had all worn off, it was just far too long of sitting in a slightly musty compartment.

Sighing slightly as he stared out into the misty fog and rain outside the window, Al pulled a rather large book out of his bag and flipped to the page where he had left off. The _Standard Book of Spells Grade Five_ lay open on his lap, a particularly fiddly spell on the page where Al was tracing his finger.

A quiet click of the compartment bought Al out of his daze, and his eyes quickly flicked up to see who it was. He was more than pleasantly suprised to find Scorpius Malfoy standing over him, smiling slightly, his glasses a little misty. Al had been half expecting his sneering brother James, and quickly shoved his stuff to one side, beckoning Scorpius to sit down opposite him.

"Hey, Al," Scorpius greeted him, his voice a tad weary, "Good summer?"

"S'ok, dull as usual," Al replied in a slightly off-hand tone, "You?"

"Three weeks with my grandparents," Scorpius made a long face, and Al chuckled, "Sheer torture. Mother insists on 'feeding me up', as per usual."

"Ah touché," Al replied with a grin, "Same here. I swear I've gotten fatter over summer."

"Yeah, look at all those rolls of fat," Scorpius teased, poking Al in the stomach, "Watch it Al, you'll grow to whale like proportions if you're not carefull."

"Shut up Malfoy," Al teased, poking his friend back.

-

Night was closing in on them by the time they reached Hogsmeade, and the platform was bathed in slivery moonlight. Al yawned as he and Scorpius rolled out of the compartment, leaving their heavy laden trunks behind. Al waved to Rose Weasley who was coming out of a compartment a few doors down, her arms cradling a few rather heavy looking volumes. She grimaced back at him.

It was cold and damp outside on the platform, and Al could see many of his fellow students huddling together, or wrapping their robes a little tighter. Scorpius stepped off first, Al behind him.

"It's freezing," He muttered, flattening his platinum blond fringe, "Bloody arctic."

Al nodded in agreement, pulling on a pair of woollen gloves. He squinted over at the lake, his eyesite wasn't really up to much in the dark. Glancing over at Scorpius, Al noticed he was talking to another boy in their year, Alec Townsend, whom was currently attempting to restrain a rather overweight tabby cat. He caught Al's eye and grinned lopsidedly at him, seemingly trying to ignore the quite obvious hissing sound.

Scorpius bid farewell to Alec and hurried over to Al's side, his hair almost translucent as the breeze hit it. Al noticed the gigantic Hagrid beckoning the terrified and trembling crowd of first years over to the boats - a journey Al would never quite forget. Scorpius seemed to notice him staring at the glistening lake and smirked.

"Thinking of taking the _other_ route, Al?" He teased, cold eyes glinting.

"Shut up," Al snaped back, heading over to the horseless carriages nearby.

"Tetchy," Scorpius muttered, following him in long silent strides, "Don't like to think about it?"

Al didn't bother answering. Despite Scorpius being his best friend at Hogwarts, he had a certain way of getting on Al's nerves. His relentless comments and sacasm were a bit too much while he felt tired and hungry. The boating incident had been in the first year, where while getting to know his fellow students, he had accidently leant back a little too casually, resulting in a rather soggy sorting. Scorpius liked to remind him whenever it came up; Al remembered what a laugh it had been for he pale boy.

"Which one shall we get in then?" Al changed the topic, smiling brightly at the moonlit carriages, "That one over there's free."

"Sure." Scorpius replied, his bony hands winding a grey scarf a little tighter round his neck.

Al ambled over to it, occasionally greeting someone or waving. Scorpius stood next to him, smirking occasionally as Al talked to people. Al was, however, used to this. He had known since about halfway through first year when two girls had asked him out on Valentines day that Scorpius thought him to be a little overly-confident. Or, as Scorpius himself called it, smug.

They eventually reached the carriage, clicked the door open and clambered inside. Scorpius sighed as he took his seat, elegantly brushing hair out of his eyes.

"It's nice to be back, isn't it?" He said to Al in his icy tone, though more of a statement rather than a question.

"Yeah," Al replied feebly, "Dinner better be good, I'm bloody starving."

Scorpius chuckled, his head resting on the carriage side, "You really never stop thinking about food, do you?"

-

They shuffled in a large, soggy huddle through the Entrance Hall as per usual, then through the towering oak doors into the Great Hall. The Great Hall itself still possessed a certain sense of excitement for Al. He was fascinated by the ceiling most - the sky tonight a deep midnight navy, a blanket of grey clouds over it. His Aunt Hermione had always told him tales of the Great Hall, and had described the ceiling in great detail manier times.

A sharp blow to his back reminded Al he was meant to be moving, and Scorpius' voice in his ear, "Don't just stand there, move."

Al reluctantly took his seat at the Slytherin table, Scorpius next to him. Gradually he had gotten used to being in Slytherin, and, asides from James, everyone was perfectly fine with it. His Uncle Ron did occasionally make off-hand remarks about Slytherins, but Al could deal. He knew the stigma that surrounded his house and had grown to get used to it.

A strong cough sounding from the front of the Hall alerted Al to his sense's, and his face snapped up to see their deputy head, Professor Longbottom, placing a worn and patched hat on a little wooden stool in the centre of the stage.

Scorpius nudged his shoulder and whispered, "D'you reckon we're getting another Lovegood this year?"

Al detected the amusement in his voice - a long line of Lovegood's had so far joined the school, with no sign of ceasing anytime soon. He chuckled in response, he knew Luna and her husband, and had witnessed at least five little Lovegood's all running around his house in the Summer. They al greatly resembled their mother; bright eyes and floaty pale hair.

"Probably, they never seem to stop," Al chuckled in response, "God I hope this is over soon, I'm _starving_."

Scorpius had opened his mouth to respond, but the creaking of hinges asserted them to the fact that the first years were about to enter, and he decided against it. Al looked over just in time to see a procession of shivering eleven year olds huddled together, their new robes dripping along the stone tiles beneath their feet. A few were grinning at those already sitting at one of the four long tables - presumably to siblings and relatives.

"There we go," Scorpius nudged Al with a bony elbow, "A Lovegood."

Al looked over to where Scorpius was pointing, and indeed saw another pallid complexion, a girl seemingly apart from the rest of the world, her pale hair a damp knot.

"Breed like rabbits," Al commented, noticing Scorpius' smirk.

They sat in a comfortable silence for a few minutes, until a loud clear voice uttered, "Avery, Mary."

A small, dark haired girl scuttled up to the hat, picked it up, and let it balance on her head, going over her eyes. It was a few tense moments before the hat proclaimed - "Gryffindor!", and Mary hurried off to the table amongst applause and cheers.

A few more names were read out and assigned their houses, the Slytherin house alone gaining a fair share of pupils. The littlest Lovegood practically pranced off to the Gryffindor table to join her sibings. Al recognised quite a few surnames, not suprising in the tight-knit wizarding community. Amongst them were a few names that Al noted as being those of ex-Deatheaters, the fearsome followers of Voldemort his dad had often told him about. It seemed, however, that these groups were splitting from their Slytherin roots, and joining other houses.

The houses had seemingly lost their rigid stereotypes from what Al had gathered of the past at Hogwarts, and appeared to have become friendlier. In fact, he and Scorpius seemed to be what many teachers would call a 'perfect example' of unity. Al never quite understood this; it wasn't like they themselves had ever had any sort of rivalry.

"It's over, Al, you can stop day-dreaming," Scorpius'slightly sneering tone caught him unaware in his right ear, "Food."

The last syllable caught Al, who replied, "Oh, right."

"Geez, you really are vacant sometimes," Scorpius teased.

"Shuddup Scorp," Al snapped back, though his stomach rumbled loudly.

Scorpius chuckled, his eyes creasing, "Bottomless pit, that stomach of yours."

-

After an enlightening speech delivered by their elderly headmistress Professor McGonagall, a swift click of her fingers brought the banquet to their tables, silver platters laden with irresistable food. Al quickly starting to load his plate as high as possible, not bothering to try and seperate different types of food. Between piling his plate he glanced over at Scorpius next to him, his elegant fingers carefully spooing peas onto his plate.

Noticing Al's glance, Scorpius commented, "You're going to get indegestion, piggy."

"Yeah, well, I'm hungry," Al returned, irritated, "I eat normally. You just don't."

Scorpius smirked without looking up at his friend, "Well, it's a family thing."

Al scoffed, stuffing a mouthfull of chicken in his mouth. His eyes darted round, attemtping to catch the eye's of his cousin Rose, or Lily. He found them both sitting side by side at the Ravenclaw table, despite Lily not being in Rose's year. They both got on suprisingly well; Al guessed study must bring some people together pretty well.

"Who're you staring at?" Scorpius enquirred, leaning in to see Al's point of view, "Ah, dear Rose."

Al smiled, at least Scorpius didn't object to his family, well, his family besides James. Rose noticed his look, and smiled back, then turned to Lily and started chatting animatedly.

"Dear lord, looks like my cousin likes you Scorp," Al groaned. He for one knew how much Rose secretly admired his friend, though he heard Scorpius splutter to his side.

"God, really?" He enquirred, though Al noted the sarcasm in his voice, "I was always under the impression she rather liked Davies."

"Girls . . ." Al replied, shaking his head, "S'ok, she'll have moved on before you know."

Scorpius agreed silently, his eye's skimming the Ravenclaw table again. Al noticed his flush lips forming into a smirk as he took a small sip of the pumpkin juice in his goblet. He almost felt annoyed; Rose was his cousin after all, and he knew Scorpius would act this way.

"You okay there Al?" He asked, an eyebrow raised, "Full?"

"Fine."

"If you insist, mon petit copain."

Al noticed the snip at him, Scorpius did seem to get a thrill out of commenting on his height. So he wasn't exactly blessed in that department, but he wasn't short by any means. Scorpius Malfoy just happened to be elegantly tall; something that secretly irked Al a little.

Al was about to snap back at him, but his plate dissappearing from under his nose was more of a suprise. The look of shock on his face must have registered with Scorpius, who looked a little amused.

"Never seen that before?"

-

What would have usually been a brisk walk to their dungeon common room was turned somewhat into a hike. Al felt all too laden with food, and whenever he emitted a low groan he could hear Scorpius' snorting.

"Hey piggy, back here."

Al glanced up from his shows to see Scorpius standing by the all too familiar entrance to the Slytherin common room, smirking. Still groaning, Al hobbled over to it and let Scorpius politely let him in. Once inside the green-tinged room, he collapsed onto the nearest sofa, his feet resting dangerously near to the crackling fire in the large granite fireplace.

Scorpius sank in next to him, though a little more gently. One last grimace in Al's direction, and Scorpius pulled a hefty looking tome onto his lap, licking his finger to flick the pages.

Al, out of sheer curiousity asked, "Where'd you get that, Scorp?"

"Left it here over Summer, couldn't pack it in," Was the blond boys reply as he wiped his glasses on his trousers, "Let me guess, you forgot to bring any reading matter _again_?"

-

Author's Notes - It never occured to me before that I never quite learnt how properly to use apostrophes. Oh dear. In the mean time, I've just read _Twilight_, though can't get my hands on the others, and wouldn't mind reading some non ExB _Twilight _fanfic. Any hints?

x


	2. Subject Matters

Author's Notes - Er, hello there. Another chapter! Shock horror, I've kept something going! Go me! Anyhow, this is probably going to be a very short chapter, I have coursework to do . . .

Thanks for reading! (Oh, and thanks to the two who favourited as well.)

-

"No, Scorp, leave me be!" A muffled moan groaned from under an silky emerald colooured duvet, "Go ask someone else."

Scorpius emmitted a sigh, followed by a swift poke to Al's cushioned side, "Get up lazy, it's breakfast."

Al, at the mention of possible food did roll down the crinkled duvet to glance over at his friend, frowning slightly. Scorpius himself was fully dressed, leaning casually against the dank dungeon walls, a trademark smirk plastered on his face.

"Yes breakfast. C'mon, I'm sure you could do with some more food after eating so little last night." Mockingly he swooned, then pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose again, "You're going to miss the post if you don't come soon. Davies has already left."

Al groaned again, his hands lazily slapping the duvet. Grudgingly, he replied, "Fine, I'm gonna get up."

Scorpius nodded, making his way to leave via the steep ascending staricase, "See you in a minute, mon petit copain."

Al mustered all the strength he could to lob one silky embroidered pillow in his friends direction, making a non-commital grunt as it missed Scorpius. He could have sworn he heard the pale boy snort as he left. Al just groaned, then heaved his legs out of the warm bed and onto the chilly flagstones below, cursing under his breath.

-

Breakfast was a rather noisy affair, first years and owl's alike causing much disruption to the usually peacefull breakfasts they had at Hogwarts. Al and Scorpius sat together as normal, facing the rest of the Hall from their position. As normal, Al gulped down a full English, while Scorpius thinly spread marmalade on a slice of crisp white toast. Scorpius' fabulous snowy owl Eirlya arrived first, nibbling on Al's hash brown as Scorpius un-knotted a newspaper and a small parcel from her scarly feet. As soon as this was done she hooted in appreciation before swiftly flying off to the Owlery.

Al glared as she left, "Why does your owl always leave bloody feathers on my plate? She's ruined my hash browns!" He moaned, poking at the said hash brown to the otherside of his plate.

Scorpius laughed a little, "That's never seemed to bother you before. Al, you of all people would probably eat anything as long as it vaguely resembled food."

"Shuddup."

"I'd love to."

A silence fell between them, Scorpiuss bony hands propping up the Daily Prophet on a toast rack, Al trying to barter with fellow fifth years for a hash brown off their plates. Eventually he managed to get one, and wolfed it down, much to Scorpius' amsuement whom peeked over the side of his paper to observe.

"Finished?" Scorpius enqquired, folding his Daily Prophet into a neat rectangle, stuffing it in his jacket pocket.

"Yeah, stuffed," Al heaved off his seat, rubbing his stomach, "Walk?"

Scorpius nodded, slidding out of the bench himself. He swiftly buttoned up his jacket with a pair of pale hands, then they both made their way down towards to Entrance Hall among the throng of students.

It was a crisp autumn morning that greeted them on the grounds of the castle. Al inhaled and exhaled deeply, taking in the wonder of the Scottish air. Scorpius walked by his side as they made their way down to the lake. Their feet made a pattern in the dewy grass, footprints side by side in a neat line.

Scorpius broke the silence, "So, what lessons have you picked? I forgot to ask."

Sighing slightly, Al replied, "I chose Ancient Runs, sadly."

"God, same," Scorpius replied, kicking a rather large stone beneath his foot, "Father said it would be good for me. Doing Divination?"

"Yeah, and Care of Magical Creatures," Al sighed, "Dunno why Divination, it sounds kinda dodgy from what my dad said. It was my Uncle who persuaded me, he said you can just sleep through lessons."

Scorpius chuckled, "I was forced into choosing it by mother, who insists she has Seer blood in her family."

They continued this chat about their lessosn, concluding that their first lesson tomorrow would be spent together in Divnation far up in the North Tower. Al gulped at this, his feet clumsily trpiping up on a boulder. He hadn't told anyone besides Scorpius that he posessed a slight fear of heights. Scrap that, a _major_ fear of heights. North Tower didn't seem all too appealing what with the rope ladder Scorpius had just started drawling on about.

"Hey look Scorp, there's Rose," Al smiled at his cousin, who waved back at him as she and a few of her friends scrambled down the rocky path to the lake, "C'mon, I'm gonna go say hi."

Al darted across the rocky terrain, leaving Scorpius to groan and carefully make his way across, pale hair obscuring his face. He eventually made it over to where Al, Rose and a couple of her friends were sitting by his and Al's usual lounging spot. He sighed once more, then made to join them grudgingly. He hadn't entirely planned on spending his Sunday sitting with a bunch of giggling girls.

"Hey Rose, what're you taking this year?" Al asked his cousin, "You doing Divination?"

Rose giggled, nudging one of her friends with an elbow, "Silly Al, remember what my mum said about Divination?"

"'Waste of bloody time', if I'm quoting her correctly," Al chuckled, "It was _your_ dad who told me to do it!"

"God, really?" She sighed, still giggling, "You doing the same subjects then?" She looked at both Al and Scorpius when she said this, leaning back on the grass.

Al replied first, "Yeah, well, we're both doing the same but Scorp's doing Ancient Runes and I chose Muggle Studies."

Scorpius smirked vaguely, choosing to cover his mouth with a velvety sleeve, while Rose babbled on about which subjects she was taking.

"Well, I had to choose Arithmancy, obviously, and Ancient Runes. I'm also doing Muggle Studies and Astronomy," She took a deep breath, "I hope I enjoy them all, it is a shame to miss out on Hagrid's lessons, but I just don't have enough space on my timetable."

Al and Scorpius looked a little taken aback at this, then one of Rose' friends piped up, "Ooh! Albus, are you doing Divination?" She gasped, her bunched black plaits bouncing.

"Um, yeah," Al grinned sheepishly, "You doing it to, Anjana?"

"_Jana,_" she corrrected him, giggling to her other friend, "Yes I am. I hope I see you there!"

Al smiled awkwardly as Rose scowled at her friend. Seeing the perfect opportunity to take their leave, he nudged Scorpius' bony arm.

"Hey, Scorp, let's go see Hagrid," He suggested, raising his eyebrows for only his friend to see.

Scorpius hesitated, then replied sharpishly, "Yeah, let's."

They pushed themselves off the grassy floor and dusted stray bits of nature off their coats and jeans. Both bid goodbye to Rose and the other two girls and made their way swiftly from the spot. Once they were clear of them, Al regained his breath and started laughing. Scorpius stood next to him, unsure of what exactly to say. Personally he thought it looked like Al might be having an asthma attack, but when Al started spluttering about something, Scorpius sighed.

Al eventually regained his normal face, standing up straight and staring over to the lake, a smile still with him.

"I think the Patil girl likes me, Scorp," He smiled, "God I'm popular."

-

Author's Notes - That's really short, isn't it? Ah well, next chapter will be up soon. Reviews are loved so much. :)


	3. Lunch

Lunch was a noisy affair just as breakfast had been. Tonight the students were being treated to a Sunday roast, excellently cooked by the house elves. The sky above them was gloriously clear; a shower of stars scattered over their heads as they ate.

Al was faintly amused by the expressions on the first years faces as the silver platters, goblets and cutlery magically appeared on the oak tables. Him and Scorpius chatted with their fellow Slytherins, though sat together as usual. Despite being popular, Al still refused to join another part of the table, opting to stick with Scorpus.

"Hey Al, d'you have that map still?" Scorpius enquirred, chopping a crispy roat potato into manegable slices, "I fancy tea tonight."

Al raised an eyebrow quizically, "A nice cuppa?" He said, the sarcasm more than a hint in his voice.

"Proper English tea, possibly accompanied with scones," Scorpius replied, equally matching Al's sarcasm.

"Doilies?"

"Sounds marvellous, dear friend."

They were both chuckling now, eating down the last of their food. As Scorpius took his last mouthful the platters dissappeared and reappeared, this time laden with wonderfull puddings. Both the boys opted for apple pie, pouring copious amounts of cream over their silver plates.

"Ah, I've missed this food," Al commented inbetween mouthfulls, "Mum's is nice, but it's nothing compared to here."

Scorpius nodded, "My mother cooks well, but dislikes puddings. God I love Hogwarts food."

Both looked at each other and nodded in agreement. Once finished they slung their bags over a shoulder and made their way out. Al waved to his Hufflepuff cousin Hugo, recieved a glare from James at the Gryffindor table, then hurried after Scorpius into the Entrance Hall, his muddy trainers scuffing the floor. He could have sworn he saw Professor McGonagall glare at him as she walked by.

Once they were in the Hall, they took the turn into a narrow staircase that eventually led to the dungeon complex. Another set of stairs led them into a coolder, danker corridor. This was the same corridor that housed the Potions classroom and the maginificent store cupboard in which Al had ventured manier time. They went far beyond this, deep into Hogwarts chambers.

Eventually they reached a wall hanging, and Scorpius grinned, "Here we are again."

Al rubbed his hands in glee as one of Scorpius' bony fingers reached out to gently tickle the pear in front of him. It proceeded to laugh rather oddly, as any embroidered fruit would do, then let them through grudgingly.

Al had learnt all he knew from the his father and his uncle, and had been much obliged to share it with Scorpius. They now went on regular excursions inside and outside of the castle, much to the dismay of their school friends when they turned up ten minutes later, arms laden with food.

"Quick, I can see Winky!" Scorpius hissed at his friend, grabbing his hand and pulling him inside.

Winky was the boys favourite house elf, seeing as they seemed to have found a way of weedling food off her. One turn of those watery globe eyes and she came hurrying up to them, ears bobbing merrily.

"Anything for the good sirs?" She asked, smiling rather oddly, "Gateau? Warthog?"

"Er ...," Al hesitated, glancing round to make sure none of the other house elves had been alerted too much to their presence, "Tea? Any chance of some scones Winky, I'm bloody starving."

She nodded and bowed, "Poor sir's, please do sit down."

She ushered them into stools by the small fireplace, and Scorpius let out a sigh.

"I love it in here," He said, cracking his knuckles, "They're so bloody obidient. Ours isn't."

Al nodded, grinning. He didn't bother to mention his Aunt's involvement in elvish rights, as he had discovered when she found him and his Uncle discussing the kitchens. Things like that were better kept quiet. On her the other hand, he made a mental note never to bring up the subject of personal elves around Rose. She was prone to being a little tetchy at times.

A littler house elf than Winky bustled over to them, a rather clean tea towel fastened round it's waist adorned with badges, carrying to tray. Al took one look at the tray and caught Scorpius' eye, grinning. The tray presented in front of them was full to the brim, a large steaming tea pot precariously balanced to it's side. The rest asides from two mugs was filled with scones, cream and jam, accompanied by a selection of brightly coloured fondant fancies.

The elf handed the tray over to Al, bowed, and hurried back over to it's place in the kitchen.

"C'mon, let's go up to the Tower," Scorpius suggested, taking the tray from Al's hands, "It'll be quiet at this time of night."

Al nodded in agreement, vacating his stool. They bid goodbye to the elves, who all took a low bow, and exited the kitchen, Al rubbing his hands in glee. They hurried through the corridors, the tray gripped in Scorpius' hands. Across the Entrance Hall, thankfully managing to avoid any Professors, and up three flights of stairs. Round a corner, then another, and finally they were in the secluded corner of the little used West Tower. This was a remote part of the school, aided by the fact there were no classrooms nearby, leaving only a very unknown short-cut to the library. Al was proud of discovering this; he had come across it while running from Davies in their second year, and now find it made an excellent place, providing more privacy than the Slytherin common room.

They set the tray down on the floor and leant back easily on the cool stone walls, catching their breath. Al was a good Quidditch player, but it didn't mean he could run. Both boys lacked stamina, and often spent a lot of time recovering.

"Fondant fancy?" Scorpius offered, a smirk playing on his lips, "Scone?"

Al took the small pink cake from his hand, grinning, "Certainly, dear chap."

"Tea?"

"Lovely."

They both held the mugs in their hands, occasionally reaching for one of the cakes on their tray. They talked about trivial stuff for a while, including their iminent Divination lesson. They had both agreed last year to take the subject purely because of the fact it seemed like an easy lesson. Al was convinced that when it came to Divination, you could easily just blag your way through it. His dad had been proof of this, he knew.

They continued in this fashion until the plates were clear and their mugs empty, Al rose from the floor, arms stretched high above his head. Scorpius followed suite, then picked the tray up and they both started the long descent down three flights of steep spiral staircases and into the vast Entrance Hall. Both quickly hurried across it, their shoes scuffing the floor, and down yet another staircase. The only person present in the Hall was a certain Professor Longbottom who grinned at Al as they rushed by, rolling his eyes at their empty tray. Al had always liked Neville, and he was seemingly the only teacher who Al really liked asides from the Grounds Keeper Hagrid. He had even stayed with Neville and his wife Hannah during the Summer Holidays; the top floor of the Leaky Cauldron was somewhat an honour.

They clattered down into the dingy dungeon corridors, zipping past stray students, tray still gripped in his hands. Scorpius chuckled at his side. They eventually reached the tapestry, Scorpius doing the honours of tickling an over-sized pear, and they were in the kitchens once again. A rather tiny house-elf scurried up to the, removed the tray from Al's hands and bowed to each of them in turn before hurrying back off.

The two friends made their way out into the dungeon corridor and proceeded to amble down to their common room. Inside was mainly empty; most students were taking advantage of what little sunshine there was still left outside. Al wasn't one for lazing around on the lush grounds and Scorpius found the Highland breeze rather annyoing. Instead, they as a pair chose to stay indoors, underground to be exact. The familiar green glow and chill air was strangely warming unlike the overground parts of the castle. Al had grown adjusted to the dingy lights and freezing cold temparatures so much so that he now preffered it to the warming glow of Howgarts' fireplaces.

Scorpius was first to sink into their sofa. Al called it theirs because of the noticable fact that Scorpius Malfor never sat anywhere else in the common room. He always chose this sofa in the corner. Al didn't object; the corner itself had a rather fascinating window that bordered onto the Lake itself, giving off the only glimpse of natural light the Slytherin common room ever recieved.

Al glanced over at his friend, noted that Scorpius already had his stuck into a book and sighed, lifting himself back off the sofa. Scorpius glanced up, an eyebrow raised quizzically.

"Going somewhere?"

"Dorm, still got some sweets from the train somwhere."

"'Kay,"

Rather than admitting he was slightly dissapointed at this response, Al nodded at his friend and shuffled off to the staircase. It was up a couple of winding cases to their dormitory, shraed with two other boys in their year. One glance into the corner confirmed Scorpius' early waking; the duvet of his bed tightly pulled over, the pillows fluffed. The trunk at the end was neatly aligned, the bedside table only holding a couplf of books and an empty glass. Al then looked over at his own beed, duvet half on the floor, bedside table covered in sweet wrappers and Chococlate Frog cards. His own trunk sat at the end of his bed, it's mahogany top strewn with clothes.

"It's a real state, y'know," Someone drawled from the doorway, causing Al to frown.

"Scorp, just because you wake up at God knows what time in the mornring to tidy doesn't mean we all do, kay?"

"Geez, hungry again Al?" The blond boy smirked, coming over to rest a hand on Al's shoulder, now both staring down at his bed, "Whose are the charming pink pants then Al? Been washing your clothes with Rose's again?"

Al sighed, exasperated, "Just because your mum does your washing, Scorp,"

Scorpius continued smirking, and patted Al's shoulder gently, "I'm sure you'll get the hang of those household spells someday, Al,"

Al grimaced, still avoiding eye contact with his friend. He often wished Scorpius didn't feel the need to comment on _everything_.

-

Author's Notes - Oops, short chapter lacking substance or interest. But hey, it's an update. I'm attempting to complete the NaNoWriMo I started, so I'll have this updated AND a link to my NaNo in my accoutn soon.

Much love, Rose 3


	4. Library

**Author's Notes – Ahahaha, finally got Open Office on my non-internet computer. Yussss. Erm, well, I hope this chapter is OK enough; the last was tripe. Personally I've got mock GCSE's and my friends fucked up love lives to bear, but this is as much as I could muster. If you enjoy it, drop a review. Lord knows it would cheer me up. Oh, and to the lovely reviewer, they _have_ spent far too much time eating! It stems from my obsession with food. : **

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The next few weeks passed in a sort of haze for the fifth years. Classes had started to become serious, the preparation for their OWL's had already commenced, and even Rose Weasley appeared to be struggling a little. They all woke early and got to sleep late into the night, leaving just enough time for eating. The rest was padded out by homework; from dream diaries to star charts, and a rather nasty essay of the use of Unicorn derivatives in Potions. Their elderly yet irritatingly healthy Potions Master Professor Slughorn wasn't even letting them off, despite Al being one of his favourite pupils.

The only light feeling for the upper years in Slytherin was their success against Hufflepuff in the first Quiddtich match of the season, despite the fact their Seeker Logan Flint had sustained some pretty nasty injuries, mainly inflicted by one Hugo Weasley. Al wasn't entirely sure who to support; having cousins and siblings in every different house never did help him much. Of his relations, however, James and his Uncle Ron were the only ones who treated him differently, and that suited him just fine.

It was the last lesson of a sleepy late October afternoon, the sun outside the castle slowing descending casting long drawn out shadows across the grounds. Al was planted on his usual corner seat in Muggle Studies, listening to his overly enthusiastic Professor McHolne. The woman was seemingly fascinated mostly by Muggle cars; even going as far as to, she told them, collect garage full of different models. Al had soon realized that the way to excel in this subject was to mention that your dad owned a Porsche, something many of his friends in the class had to stifle laughs at.

He couldn't wait for dinner that day, having spent the remainder of his afternoon wasted in detention. Personally, Al didn't see much harm in charming a couple of suits of armour so that they spouted rambling declarations of love to whoever went by. His elderly Head of House Professor McGonagall, however, did. So he sat through two hours of arranging class notes for her Transfiguration lessons.

He met Scorpius outside McGonagall's office, who smirked at Al smugly as they walked along a deserted corridor.

"Fun times, Al?" He asked, "I've heard McGonagall's detentions can be a real hoot sometimes."

"Oh yeah, you missed out Scorp," Al muttered, "I need to sleep."

"Sure thing, partner." Scorpius replied, and then began the winding descent down to the Dungeon corridors.

- - -

Scorpius was up long before Al on Tuesday morning, despite the fact that he didn't have a class until after lunch. On one side he loved study leave; any old excuse to go sit in the library and read as many books as his eyes would allow. On the other hand he disliked it because on a Tuesday morning and Thursday afternoon it was only him. Al had classes, as did both Greg and Stefan. He occasionally sat with a bunch of Ravenclaws – house unity did come in useful sometimes, or Rose Weasley and her incessant Gryffindor pals. He never did quite get why Rose chose to hang out with a bunch of giggling Gryffindors.

Al was rolling about in his crumpled emerald duvet, one pale bare leg jutting out. Scorpius smirked at his friend, blissfully asleep and peaceful. He knew he should wake Al up – breakfast would be served any minute – but part of him was tempted to just leave his friend sleeping.

Al's foot twitched, toes curling. Scorpius set down his comb and scuttled over to his friends side. Slender fingers swept across Al's foot and –

"Nghh!" Al rolled over, eyes squinting at his friend, "Fuck off Scorp."

"Much obliged, dearest, but I was under the firm belief that you had Muggle Studies, do you not?"

"Hmpf," Al buried his face into the pillow, "Do I have to get up? Why aren't you going to class?"

"Ah, Ancient Runes my friend. Still, I have to do tomorrow afternoon, and Thursday. We share a study break on Friday though," He added cheerfully.

"I guess," Al mumbled, steadily propping himself up on the mahogany head board, "Breakfast?"

- - -

After breakfast Al made his way up to the Muggle Studies classroom while Scorpius opted for Hogwarts' library. By the tie he got there it was mainly empty, the few study tables inside holding only a couple of students at most. None of the Slytherin Fifth years were there; only Gryffindors and a couple of Ravenclaws.

"Scorpius!" He heard the excited voice of one Rose Weasley, and looked up to see her flailing an arm about in the air, grinning, "Come over here!"

Scorpius suppressed a high and went to join Rose and another Ravenclaw.

"Hey Scorp," She grinned, brushing frizzy ginger hair out of her eyes, "This is Max."

Scorpius recognised the boy next to her, a Fifth year Ravenclaw he and Al shared Care of Magical Creatures with. He grinned a little lopsidedly, and extended a hand, "Hey Scorp."

"Max," Scorpius replied curtly, sitting down and swinging his bag under the table, "No lessons?"

Max shook his shaggy ash blond hair, "Nah, me and Rosie don't have Arithmancy until this afternoon We've got it with you, haven't we?"

"Yeah," Scorpius grinned, "Excited?"

"Yes, I am actually," Rose exclaimed, "We're moving onto a new topic today, Professor Simíent said! I can't wait until we start the latter half of the OWL syllabus; it looks ever so complicated! Of course, I studied over the holidays, so I think I'm okay." She flushed, hanging her head as Scorpius and Max exchanged a light chuckle.

"Like you could fail anything Rosie," Max commented, ruffling her hair, "We'd better head off, actually. Sorry Scorp, but we've got things to do and people to see."

"It's fine," Scorpius put on a smile, though deep down he knew a little privacy would be quite welcome, "See you around. Max, Rose," He nodded in turn, then waved, still grinning, until Max and Rose were round the corner and out. Scorpius heaved a sigh, then slipped an arm under the table and hoisted his satchel up. At breakfast Scorpius had received the weekly letter from his parents, alongside a handsome, though a little pretentious, quill from his Grandfather. It was constructed of a beautiful, snow white peacock feather. Doubtless it would be ruined the moment the nib touched any ink, but Scorpius admired it all the same. Alongside it was the obligatory letter from his father – something slight unusual seeing as it was usually Asteria bombarding him with letters.

He slipped a finger underneath the seal and pulled the parchment out.

_Scorpius,_

_As I'm sure you are fully aware, I have been promoted. No doubt your mother has informed you of that already, but I think it may be something to think about. I have been informed by a certain official that you and the Weasley girl are involved, so as to say. All the advice I can give you as a Malfoy is this – if you must marry a mudblood, I would have rather seen you opt for one of Potter's children._

_Father_

Scorpius spluttered as he read the end of the letter; Ministry officials spreading rumours about him? Did they honestly have nothing better to do than natter about each others children? Anyway, him and Rose. Scorpius had to stifle a chuckle – Rosie may have harboured a rather out in the open crush on him, but Scorpius was never one to reciprocate people's feelings for him.

He sighed again, readjusted his legs, and began to neatly construct a letter back, reassuring his father that him and "the Weasley girl" weren't involved, making sure to leave it free of traces of love and emotion. Of course, this was easily enough done. It's Malfoy spirit to keep your emotions under wraps.

- - -

**Author's Notes – Oops, weird chapter. I feel the compulsion to write AN's, it's a thing I have with Hmppffff, I think all the spelling's right – but don't count on my proper use of comma's – I'm shite at English. Reviews are love!**


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